I just got finished watching this movie, and it captivated me from start to finish! This is the definition of a great film! God bless independent cinema, because you would never see a major studio film that centers on a dwarf, a Hispanic man and a woman in her 40's. Yes, people like this exist in the world and they have feelings too.
Peter Dinklage gives a pitch-perfect, topnotch performance. It's unfortunate that it's hard for actors like him to get good roles in the movie business, because he possesses as much talent as every popular movie star combined. He plays a man of extremely few words, yet you can read his emotions with every facial expression and piece of body language. The actor who plays his buddy, Joe, also gives a wonderful performance. It helps that he plays a hugely lovable character. But he's lovable in a believable way. He's doesn't serve as some tool to elicit giant "awwws" from the audience. You see people like him everyday. People who live lonely lives (in this case, he's a man confined to sitting in a lunch truck day-by-day), who are simply looking for folks to talk to and make friends with. The minute he sees that our main character is living close to his lunch truck, he finds an opportunity for friendship. It's frustrating as we watch our main character, Fin, brush off people who are trying to make friends with him, but at the same time you understand his reasons. A close friend of his just died and he has to deal with the baggage of living his whole life as a dwarf, and being the object of ridicule. So when he sees people so eager to make friends with him, he doesn't know whether their feelings are genuine or they're just patronizing him because of his condition. And the beautiful thing about this movie is none of those character motivations are laid out on the table in a heavy-handed, expositional way. The writer-director made the film in such a way that you're able to interpret these details from their normal, everyday activities. The cast of brilliantly talented actors help us interpret those details as well. Aside from the two actors I just mentioned, Patricia Clarkson gives a wonderfully subtle performance. I'm guessing she achieved most of her fame from the hit show "Six Feet Under." Unfortunately, I don't have cable and am not too familiar with her work, other than various supporting roles she has played in the past. There is not one bad apple in this bunch of actors. Even the girl who plays Cleo (who was previously in "Lovely and Amazing") does a wonderful job, though her role is moderately small. Then again, there are no small roles, just small actors--and she certainly doesn't fit that bill.
I can't say enough about this gem of a motion picture. As I always say, good films come more often than I think, but great films are rare. This is one of those rare, great films that is deserving a perfect score. "The Station Agent" serves as further proof that it doesn't matter how little a budget you have; great films can be made for little or no money, and sometimes money even ruins films. Independent cinema rules!!!!!
My score: 10 (out of 10)
Peter Dinklage gives a pitch-perfect, topnotch performance. It's unfortunate that it's hard for actors like him to get good roles in the movie business, because he possesses as much talent as every popular movie star combined. He plays a man of extremely few words, yet you can read his emotions with every facial expression and piece of body language. The actor who plays his buddy, Joe, also gives a wonderful performance. It helps that he plays a hugely lovable character. But he's lovable in a believable way. He's doesn't serve as some tool to elicit giant "awwws" from the audience. You see people like him everyday. People who live lonely lives (in this case, he's a man confined to sitting in a lunch truck day-by-day), who are simply looking for folks to talk to and make friends with. The minute he sees that our main character is living close to his lunch truck, he finds an opportunity for friendship. It's frustrating as we watch our main character, Fin, brush off people who are trying to make friends with him, but at the same time you understand his reasons. A close friend of his just died and he has to deal with the baggage of living his whole life as a dwarf, and being the object of ridicule. So when he sees people so eager to make friends with him, he doesn't know whether their feelings are genuine or they're just patronizing him because of his condition. And the beautiful thing about this movie is none of those character motivations are laid out on the table in a heavy-handed, expositional way. The writer-director made the film in such a way that you're able to interpret these details from their normal, everyday activities. The cast of brilliantly talented actors help us interpret those details as well. Aside from the two actors I just mentioned, Patricia Clarkson gives a wonderfully subtle performance. I'm guessing she achieved most of her fame from the hit show "Six Feet Under." Unfortunately, I don't have cable and am not too familiar with her work, other than various supporting roles she has played in the past. There is not one bad apple in this bunch of actors. Even the girl who plays Cleo (who was previously in "Lovely and Amazing") does a wonderful job, though her role is moderately small. Then again, there are no small roles, just small actors--and she certainly doesn't fit that bill.
I can't say enough about this gem of a motion picture. As I always say, good films come more often than I think, but great films are rare. This is one of those rare, great films that is deserving a perfect score. "The Station Agent" serves as further proof that it doesn't matter how little a budget you have; great films can be made for little or no money, and sometimes money even ruins films. Independent cinema rules!!!!!
My score: 10 (out of 10)